CN1253070C - Electric working machine - Google Patents

Abstract

In an electric working machine, a scroll portion (31) is provided at one of left and right sides of a machine body (11), and a relay member (42) functioning as a power switch in which a power on/off key (41) is removably inserted is provided at the other side of the machine body (11). The relay member (42) is provided between a motor-driving battery (26) and a control section (24; 64) so that the battery (26) and control section (24; 64) can be electrically connected with each other by insertion, in the relay member (42), of the power on/off key (41) and disconnected from each other by removal, from the relay member (42), of the power on/off key (41).

Description

electric lawn mower

technical field

The invention relates to an electric lawn mower, wherein the electric motor is turned on or off by inserting or disengaging the power switch/key from the machine body, the blades in the cutter housing are rotated by the electric motor to cut grass, and the cut grass passes through the The reel part inside the cutting machine housing is conveyed to the rear of the machine body, so that the cut grass is finally collected in the grass bag.

The present invention also relates to an electric working machine, wherein the electric motor is driven by the battery to rotate under the control of the control part, so that the body can run and complete various operations required by the operator.

Background technique

Many kinds of electric lawn mowers and other types of electric working machines are known in the prior art, among which Japanese Patent No. 2,837,960 discloses a lawn mower powered by a battery, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. Hei 10-191750 discloses A kind of electric working machine and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 9-65752 disclose a kind of battery driven electric working machine.

The battery powered lawn mower disclosed in No. 2,837,960 includes an electric motor mounted on the chassis of the body and covered by a housing, and a battery pack installed in the housing, wherein the power on/off key is movably inserted into the housing body behind the upper battery pack. The electric working machine disclosed in JP-A-10-191750 includes a motor switch provided at the rear end portion of the cutter housing, wherein the motor switch is controlled by rotating a power on/off key inserted into the switch.

Generally, in this kind of electric lawn mower, the cut grass is conveyed to the rear of the body through the reel part and finally collected into the grass bag, and the reel part needs to be cleaned frequently because the cut grass is easy to stick to the surface of the reel . In order to clean the reel portion of the aforementioned battery powered lawn mower, where the power on/off key is located at the upper rear end of the lawn mower, the operator needs to move to the rear of the body to pull the power on/off key out of the , then move to the side of the body and lay the body sideways to access the reel section shown. Similarly, in order to clean the reel part of the above-mentioned electric working machine, wherein the motor switch is arranged at the rear end part of the casing cover of the cutting machine, the operator needs to move to the rear of the body to switch the power on/off from the Pull out the motor switch described above, then move to the side of the body and lay the body sideways to access the portion of the reel shown. That is, for both known battery powered lawn mowers and electric working machines, it is desirable that the power on/off key be inserted into the mower or working machine at a location that allows the operator to easily clean the reel section.

In addition, in the electric working machine disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-191750, the motor switch is arranged on a support plate, and the support plate is equipped with charging plugs, and these motor switches and charging plugs are exposed, so that through the An opening formed in the cover provides access to said switch and plug. In this way, when the working machine is started by rotating the power on/off key inserted into the motor switch, the manipulating part of the power on/off key overlaps with the charging plug or covers it to prevent the charger from being misplaced during the operation of the working machine. Connect to a work machine. In addition, in the battery-driven electric working machine disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-65752, a charging socket and an interlock switch for opening/closing the power circuit are provided on the charging operation panel, and a charging socket is also provided on the charging operation panel. The cover element is used to slide between the socket and the interlock switch. Here, the cover element has a protrusion, so that the interlock switch is opened when the cover element covers the socket, and closed when the cover element does not cover the socket.

However, although the electric working machine disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-191750 not only has the main safety function performed by the motor switch and the power on/off key, but also has the function of preventing the charger from being wrongly connected to the working machine during its operation. additional functions, but it cannot realize both safety functions with a single simple structure; that is, the main safety function and the additional function of preventing wrong connection of the charger have to be performed by respective different components. In addition, in the electric working machine driven by the battery disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-65752, since the protrusion is integrally formed on the cover element, the working machine is only actuated by the key switch mechanism while sacrificing Partially necessary safety performance; that is, the safety performance of the key switch mechanism and the safety performance regarding the connection with the charger cannot be realized at the same time, so the disclosed electric working machine is unsatisfactory from a safety point of view.

Contents of the invention

In view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved electric lawnmower which facilitates cleaning of the scroll section.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved electric working machine capable of realizing the safety performance of the key switch mechanism and the safety performance regarding the connection with the charger through a single simple structure.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electric lawn mower, which has: a body with a cutting machine housing; a relay component arranged in the body; an electric motor installed in the body for It is turned on by inserting the power on/off key into the relay part and closed by removing the power on/off key from the relay part; the blade is arranged in the cutter housing and is controlled by the The above-mentioned electric motor is driven to rotate to cut grass; and the reel part is arranged in the casing of the cutter, so as to transfer the grass cut by the blade to the grass bag detachably installed at the rear of the body In the above, the reel part is arranged near one of the left lateral side and the right lateral side of the body, wherein the relay part includes a single connector, and the power switch/key or battery charger connection connectors are alternately detachably inserted therein, and the single connector is provided on the other side of the left and right lateral sides of the body.

As mentioned above, in this kind of electric lawn mower, the cut grass is sent to the rear of the body through the reel part and finally collected into the grass bag. Since the cut grass is easy to stick to the surface of the reel, it is necessary to Clean the reel section from time to time. Therefore, there is a strong need for an improved electric lawn mower whose reel is more easily cleaned by the operator. The electric lawn mower of the present invention can fully meet this requirement. The feature of the present invention is that the reel part is arranged on one side of the left and right sides of the body and the power on/off key can be moved into a concave (female) connection (female) Power switch) is arranged on the other side of the left or right side of the body. Thus, the user can pull the power on/off key out of the female connection in the body on the same side of the body and place the body sideways. That is to allow the user to complete the two desired operations described: inserting and pulling out the power on/off key; and placing the body sideways without changing his or her operating position. In this way, the efficiency and convenience of reel cleaning are greatly improved. Furthermore, the present invention allows efficient assembly of an electric lawnmower by providing a female machine side connection integrally engaged with the motor controlled control section.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electric working machine, which has: a body; a rechargeable battery installed in the body; an electric motor driven by the battery to rotate; a control part for controlling the electric motor to allow the body to operate and realize various functions ; and a relay part mainly used as a power switch, which is provided between the battery and the control part for electrical connection therebetween. Here, the battery and the control part can be electrically connected to each other through a predetermined connection part, such as a power on/off key inserted into the relay part, and disconnected from each other by pulling out the predetermined connection part from the relay part. .

With this structure, the battery and the control part can be completely disconnected from each other by withdrawing from the relay part through the predetermined connection part, and it is possible to make the battery in the non-operation or static period of the electric working machine. Unwanted discharges are minimized and over-discharges are prevented during prolonged storage of working machines. In this way, the working life of the battery can be extended.

In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the relay part includes a connection part arranged on the side of the body to connect the charger to charge the battery, so that the same relay part can be selectively connected to a predetermined connected parts, such as a power on/off key, or a charger. That is, when the electric working machine is working to perform its main function, such as the mowing function, a predetermined connecting part, such as a power on/off key can be inserted or connected with the relay part, and the charger can be inserted into the relay part when the battery is charged Or connect with relay components. In this way, the working efficiency and convenience of the electric working machine during battery discharge (that is, during mowing) or charging are greatly improved, and at the same time, misplugging of predetermined connecting parts or chargers is reliably avoided.

The batteries used in the present invention are preferably nickel-based or lithium-based batteries. It is well known that the temperature control of nickel-based or lithium-based batteries during charging is relatively easy. Therefore, the nickel-based or lithium-based batteries adopted in the present invention can greatly improve the charging efficiency. In addition, the control part has the function of monitoring and controlling the temperature of the battery, thereby improving the reliability of battery charging. Therefore, the battery can have a longer working life.

Also, in the above-mentioned electric working machine, the relay component includes a positive terminal connected to the positive pole of the battery, and the positive terminal of the relay component is also used as a charging positive terminal for connecting the charger and the positive pole of the battery. This structure can simplify the structure of the control part and the relay part. Thereby, the necessary overall cost of the electric working machine can be reduced to a reasonable level.

Description of drawings

Certain preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below, by way of embodiment only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

1 is a perspective view of an electric lawnmower according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is the side view of the electric lawnmower seen along the direction of arrow "2" of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is the plan view of the electric lawn mower seen along the direction of the arrow "3" of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the electric lawn mower of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a side sectional view of the electric lawnmower cut along the line 5-5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view of the electric lawnmower cut along the line 6-6 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a hardware block diagram showing the control system of the electric lawnmower of Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is a curve illustration of the working life characteristic of the battery element adopted in the electric lawnmower of Fig. 1;

Fig. 9 is a curve illustration of the memory effect of the battery element in the electric lawn mower;

10A and 10B are graphical illustrations of the performance of an electric lawn mower;

Fig. 11 is a plan view of a relay component used in an electric lawnmower;

Fig. 12 is the front view of this relay component;

Figure 13 is a plan view of the power on/off key adopted by the electric lawn mower;

Figure 14 is a front view of the power on/off key;

Fig. 15 is a plan view of the charging plug of the charger used in the electric lawn mower;

Fig. 16 is the front view of the charging plug of the charger;

Figure 17 is a modified perspective view of the electric lawnmower, particularly showing the control section and relay components of the modified motor control.

Detailed ways

Although the invention will be described below primarily in the form of an electric lawn mower, it should be understood that the invention may also be implemented in other types of electric working machines.

In the following description, the terms "front", "rear", "left", "right", "above" and "below" etc. denote directions seen from an operator of the electric lawnmower or electric working machine. In these drawings, "Fr" means "front", "Rr" means rear, "L" means left, and "R" means right.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electric lawnmower according to an embodiment of the present invention. The electric lawnmower 10 includes a body 11 , a front wheel 12 , a rear wheel 13 , a grass bag 14 , a discharge port cover 15 , a handle 16 , a cutter housing 21 , a cover element 27 and a switch operating mechanism 28 . The electric lawn mower 10 also includes a power on/off key (main key) 41, which is used as a connecting part or as a relay part for detachable insertion into a recessed socket or a power switch on the machine side (machine-side). 42 male plug to turn the mower 10 on or off.

1 and 4, the switch operating mechanism 28 includes: a non-contact reed switch 36 for performing switch control of the electric motor 22; a generally fan-shaped actuating member 72, which is rotatably mounted on the handle 16 Used to set the switching state of the reed switch 36 ; the operating lever 73 used to rotate the actuating member 72 ; and the clutch mechanism 74 .

The important thing is that the electric lawn mower of the present invention is provided with a reel part on the left or right side of the body 11 and is provided with a power switch/key 41 on the other side of the body 11. The power switch (ie the relay part) 42, thereby greatly improving the cleaning efficiency and convenience of the reel part. In addition, in the electric lawn mower 10, the battery element 26 driven by the motor and the control part 24 are inserted into the relay part 42 through the power supply on/off key 41 so that they can be electrically connected to each other, and by withdrawing the power from the relay part 42 The on/off key 41 can break said electrical connection. These important features will be explained more clearly later.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the electric lawnmower 10 viewed along the direction of arrow "2" in FIG. 1 . The electric lawnmower 10 is configured as a so-called rear discharge type lawnmower. That is, the electric motor 22 is turned on or off by inserting or disengaging the power on/off key 41 from a relay part (or a power switch on the side of the machine) 42 provided in the main body portion 11 of the machine. The blade 23 in the cutter housing 21 rotates to cut the grass under the action of the electric motor, and the cut grass is delivered to the rear part of the machine body part 11 by the reel part 31 in the cutter housing 21, thereby the The cut grass is collected in the grass bag 14 .

FIG. 3 is a side view of the electric lawnmower 10 viewed along the direction of arrow "3" in FIG. 1 . Insert the power on/off key 41 into the relay part 42 and operate the switch operating mechanism 28 shown in Figure 1 to turn on the electric motor 22, so that the motor 22 activated makes the blade 23 along the direction shown by the arrow "a" Take turns turning to cut grass. As shown by arrow "b", the cut grass is driven through the reel portion 31 of the cutter housing 21 into the grass bag 14 by the eddy current created by the rotation of the blade 23 . That is, in this rear discharge type electric lawnmower 10, the reel part 31 is arranged on one of the left or right regions of the body 11, and the relay part 42 into which the power on/off key 41 is movably inserted is arranged on the body. the other in the left or right area.

In general, in a rear discharge type electric lawn mower in which the cut grass is delivered to the rear part of the body through the reel part to be finally collected into the grass bag, it is necessary to clean the reel part from time to time because the cut grass is easy to adhere to on the surface of the reel portion; therefore, it is preferred that the electric mower be constructed to facilitate cleaning of the reel portion.

This is why the reel portion 31 in the embodiment is provided in one of the left or right regions of the body 11 while the relay part 42 is provided in the other of the left or right regions via the mounting bracket 29 . With this arrangement, the operator can easily take and clean the reel portion 31 after first pulling out the power on/off key 41 from the relay part 42 on the other side of the body portion 11, and then place the machine body portion laterally 12Leave one side (the side of the reel part) facing up. That is to say, the operator can concentrate on disassembling the power switch 41 and place the machine body 12 laterally at the same operating position, thereby improving the efficiency of the cleaning operation.

The following graphs illustrate in detail the structure of the rear discharge electric lawnmower 10 of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the electric lawn mower 10 showing the main components of the lawn mower 10 . As shown in the figure, an electric motor 22 is mounted on a cutter housing 21 , a blade 23 is connected to a rotating shaft 22 a of the motor 22 , and a control part 24 is disposed above the motor 22 . The electric lawnmower 10 also includes a battery bracket 25 installed on the cutter housing 21 from above the motor 22 and the control part 24 , and a battery pack 26 is supported on the battery bracket 25 . The cover member 27 covers the electric motor 22 , the control part 24 , the battery holder 25 and the battery pack 26 , and on/off control of the electric motor 22 is performed by a switch operating mechanism 28 . Preferably, the battery bracket 25 is fixed to the cutter housing 21 at the same time as the motor 22 is fixed to the cutter housing 21 .

The cutter housing 21 has a relatively large upward opening 21 b at the bottom in which the motor 22 is accommodated and a plurality of bosses 21 c for mounting the motor 22 on the body 21 a of the cutter housing 21 . The housing body 21a has a reel portion 31 formed therein for conveying the cut grass to the following grass bag 14 while allowing the blades 23 to rotate. Through holes 32 (only one of which is shown in FIG. 4 ) communicating between the inside and outside of the cutter housing 21 are formed by installing the electric motor 22 with the cutter housing screw sleeve 21c.

The control section 24 includes a case 35 and a control board 35 housed in the case 34 . The control board 35 is connected to a non-contact reed switch 36 forming an essential part of the switch operating mechanism 28 for controlling the motor 22 . The control board 35 is also connected with: a display lamp 37, which is used for normally emitting light to inform the operator that the electric lawn mower 10 is in a working state; . The control part 24 also includes the above-mentioned power on/off key 41 and a relay component 42 for jointly supplying power to the lawnmower 10 . It is to be noted that the relay unit 42 also serves as a charging connector for charging the battery pack 26 as described below.

The battery bracket 25 preferably made of metal material includes: a body portion 25a covering the sides and top of the electric motor 22; a forward extending portion 25b extending horizontally forward from the body portion 25a; Bracket 29. As mentioned above, the battery bracket 25 is fixed to the cutter housing 21 together with the motor 22 . The body portion 25a has air holes 25c and 25d, and the forwardly extending portion 25b has an air hole 25e.

As described above, the electric lawnmower 10 of the present invention has the battery bracket 25 and the electric motor 22 mounted together on the cutter housing 21 . It is thereby possible to more efficiently assemble the electric lawnmower 10 .

A battery pack 26 mounted on the upper portion of the cutter housing 21 and preferably a nickel-cadmium battery pack includes a front battery 43 and first and second upper batteries 44 and 45 . The front battery 43 includes a set of batteries 46 each rated at 1.2V, and is mounted on the forwardly extending portion 25b of the battery tray 25 with each battery in a vertical position. The first and second upper batteries 44 and 45 all include a set of batteries 46 each rated at 1.2 V like the front battery 43, and these upper batteries 44 and 45 are mounted on the body portion 25a of the battery holder 25 , with each cell in a horizontal position.

The battery pack 26 may include other high-performance batteries other than nickel-cadmium batteries, such as other types of nickel-based or lithium-based batteries. It is well known that it is relatively easy to control the temperature of nickel- or lithium-based batteries during charging operations. Therefore, the charging efficiency of the battery pack 26 including such nickel-based or lithium-based cells can be significantly improved in the present embodiment.

The cover member 27 , preferably made of resin, includes a louver 47 provided on its front lower portion and having an opening 47 a for airflow to and from the inside of the cover member 27 . The cover member 27 also has an air hole 27a formed in its rear end portion and a groove 27b on its left side for enabling the relay member 42 to open outward.

FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of electric lawnmower 10 taken along line 5 - 5 of FIG. 1 . FIG. 5 clearly shows that in an electric lawnmower 10 in which the blade 23 is housed in the cutter housing 21, the electric motor 22 is mounted on the upper part of the cutter housing 21 and the motor 22 is driven by a rechargeable battery pack 26. , the battery pack 26 includes first and second upper batteries 44 and 45 disposed above the motor 22 and a front battery 43 disposed in front of the motor 22 . By means of the batteries 44 and 45 arranged above the motor 22 and the battery 43 arranged in front of the motor 22, it is possible to achieve a corresponding weight balance of the electric lawnmower, so that the operability of the electric lawnmower 10 can be greatly improved.

In addition, in the electric lawn mower 10, wherein the rechargeable battery pack 26 is installed in the body 11 to drive the electric motor 22 to rotate the blade 23 in the cutter housing 21, the motor 22 and the battery pack 26 are covered by the cover member 27 together. Covering member 27 is shaped to gradually incline upward along the front to rear direction of body 11, forming louver opening 47a at the lower portion of its front end and air hole 27a at the upper portion of its rear end. Therefore, the battery pack 26 and the motor 22 can be effectively cooled by the cold outside air entering into the cover member 27 through the front louver opening 47a and exhausted from the cover member 27 through the rear air hole 27a. This arrangement can effectively prevent the battery pack 26 and the motor 22 from overheating, thereby allowing the electric lawn mower 10 to withstand long periods of continuous work or use.

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of the motor 10 taken along line 6-6 of Figure 1, showing the mower 10 with the cover member 27 (see Figure 5) removed for clarity. This view clearly shows that the cutter housing 21 has mounted thereon a battery bracket 25 comprising a main body portion 25a covering the sides and top of the electric motor 22 and a forward extending forwardly from the main body portion 25a. The extension part 25b, and the first and second upper batteries 44 and 45 and the front battery 43 are installed in the main body part 25a and the extension part 25b in a dispersed manner, respectively. This dispersed arrangement of the batteries 43 , 44 and 45 makes it easy for cooling air to flow among the batteries 43 , 44 and 45 and the electric motor 22 , thereby promoting heat radiation of the batteries 43 , 44 and 45 and the electric motor 22 .

In addition, since the battery bracket 25 is made of a metal material and has the air holes 25c, 25d, and 25e formed at positions where the batteries 43, 44, and 45 are installed, it is possible to further facilitate the batteries 43, 44, and 45 and the electric motor even further. 22 thermal radiation. It is to be noted that reference numerals 49 a , 49 b and 49 c denote elastic straps which fasten the front and side batteries 43 , 44 and 45 to the battery holder 25 .

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the control system of the electric lawnmower 10 described above in relation to FIGS. 1-6. The control system 50 generally includes the control section 24 described above for controlling the electric motor 22 and the charger 51 for charging the battery pack 26 .

As shown in FIG. 7, the control section 24 includes an overcurrent disconnection circuit 55 for disconnecting an overcurrent, a control block 56 for controlling the behavior of the electric lawnmower 10, and a control block 56 for monitoring the battery pack 26 during charging. A thermistor 57 for temperature and a thermal cutout 58 for terminating charging based on an output signal from the thermistor 57 . The control part 24 also includes the above-mentioned relay part 42, and the power on/off key 41 or plug of the charger 51 can be inserted into the relay part when necessary.

The control section 24 continuously monitors the temperature of the battery pack 26 during charging through the thermistor 57 ; that is, the control section 24 has a function of monitoring and controlling the temperature of the battery pack 26 . With the control section 24 having such a battery temperature control function, the battery pack 26 can be charged with higher reliability, so the battery pack 26 can have a longer working life.

The control block 56 includes a motor control circuit 61 for controlling the operation of the electric motor 22, a lighting circuit for lighting the above-mentioned display light 37, preferably in the form of a light emitting diode (LED), and a buzzer for driving the buzzer 38. drive circuit 63 . Connected to the motor drive circuit 61 is the non-contact reed switch 36 for turning on and off the switch operating mechanism 28 ( FIG. 4 ) of the electric motor 22 . As long as the voltage level of the battery pack 26 is higher than a predetermined voltage level above the memory effect induced voltage level to be described later, the lighting circuit 62 keeps lighting the display lamp 37, but once the voltage of the battery pack 26 is lower than the predetermined voltage level, If the voltage level is lower, the display lamp 37 is extinguished (turned off). Specifically, the lighting circuit 62 keeps the indicator light 37 on except when the voltage of the battery pack 26 is lower than a predetermined voltage level, eg, 0.97/battery.

When the voltage of the battery pack 26 exceeds a predetermined voltage level just above the memory effect induced voltage level, the display lamp 37 is kept lit. It is safe to continue mowing during the period and stop mowing once the indicator light 37 turns off. That is, the display light 37 can inform the operator of the correct time to charge the battery pack 26 . Therefore, it is possible to prevent the operating life of the battery pack 26 from being abnormally shortened.

The buzzer driving circuit 63 makes the buzzer 38 keep sounding during the rotation of the electric motor 22, but stops sounding once the voltage of the battery pack 26 is lower than a predetermined voltage level. That is, the electric lawn mower 10 of the present invention includes a rechargeable battery pack 26 installed in the body 11, and employing the battery pack 26 as a driving source of the motor 22 enables the body 11 to move and perform any other operations, buzzing The device 38 can inform the operator that the electric lawn mower 10 is currently in an actual operating state.

Generally speaking, motor-driven electric lawn mowers can operate with much lower noise than engine-driven lawn mowers. Therefore, when such an electric lawn mower is used in a noisy environment, it is not easy for the operator to judge whether the electric lawn mower is currently in an actual operating state through his hearing. Therefore, by providing the buzzer 38, which keeps sounding during the rotation of the electric motor 22 to move the machine body 11 or perform any other operation to inform the operator that the electric lawn mower 10 is currently in an actual operating state, mowing can be improved. Machine 10 work efficiency and operability.

In addition, since the buzzer 38 in this embodiment is automatically stopped when the voltage of the battery pack 26 is lower than a predetermined voltage level, energy waste of the battery pack 26 can be avoided.

The above-mentioned relay part 42 is a connector having six connection terminals C1-C6 (simply indicated as "1"-"6" due to limited space), wherein the first connection terminal C1 serving as a positive terminal is passed through The overcurrent short circuit 55 is connected with the positive pole of the battery pack 26, the second connection terminal C2 is connected with the negative pole of the battery pack 26 and one of the two output terminals of the control block 56, and the third connection terminal C3 is connected with the other terminal of the control block 56. One output terminal is connected, the fourth connection terminal C4 is connected with one end of the thermal circuit breaker 58, the fifth connection terminal C5 is connected with one end of the thermistor 57, and the sixth connection terminal C6 is connected with the thermal circuit breaker 58 and the thermistor 57. The other ends are connected.

The power on/off key 41 or the main key are in the form of a plug with a pair of electrical connection pins P1 and P3 (simply indicated as "1" and "3" in the figure due to limited space), the plug is inserted into the relay unit 42 and are respectively connected to the first and third connection terminals C1 and C3 of the relay part 42, thereby being short-circuited between the terminals C1 and C3.

The charger 51 includes a charging plug 52 for connecting to the relay unit 42 and a power plug 53 for connecting to an AC line. The power plug 53 that is used for charging battery pack 26 has pin R1, R2, R3, R4, R5 and R6 (because space is limited so simply represent " 1 ", " 2 " " 3 ", " 4 ", " 5" and "6") for connecting with the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth connection terminals C1, C2, C3, C4, C5 and C6 of the relay unit 42, respectively.

It should be understood from the above that the relay unit 42 is a connector selectively connected to the power on/off key 41 or the charging plug 52 of the charger 51 if necessary. In other words, the same relay part 42 in the electric lawnmower 10 of the present invention is suitable for being connected with the charger 51 for charging the battery pack 26, and can also be connected with the power on/off key 41; A relay component 42 has two independent connecting parts on it, one is used for connecting with the power on/off key 41 , and the other is used for connecting with the charger 51 . Therefore, the power on/off key 41 can be plugged into and connected to the relay unit 42 when the electric lawn mower 10 is operating for mowing, and the charger 51 can be plugged into the relay unit 42 when the battery pack 26 is to be charged. 42 and connected thereto. Therefore, it is possible to avoid erroneous insertion and erroneous connection of the power on/off key 41 and the charging plug 52 . In this way, electric lawn mower 10 can be operated more conveniently and efficiently while battery pack 26 is discharging (ie, mowing operations) or charging.

More specifically, in the electric lawn mower 10 , the positive connection terminal C1 of the relay member 42 directly connected to the positive pole of the battery pack 26 is also used as a charging positive terminal for connecting the charger 51 and the positive pole of the battery pack 26 . By also serving as the charging positive terminal C1 of the relay unit 42 for connecting the positive terminal of the battery pack 26, it is possible to simplify the structures of the control portion 24 and the relay unit 42. Therefore, the necessary overall cost of the electric lawnmower 10 can be reduced to a reasonable degree.

In addition, in the electric lawnmower 10 of the present invention, which includes a rechargeable battery pack 26 installed in the body 11 and uses the battery pack 26 as a driving source to move the body 11 and perform any other operations, there is The relay part 42 is used to be operatively connected between the control part 24 and the battery pack 26, and a connection part (power on/off key) 41 is inserted into the relay part 42 to operatively connect the control part 24 and the battery pack 26 . In addition, removing the connection part (power on/off key) 41 from the relay part 42 completely disconnects the control part 24 from the battery pack 26 . This arrangement can minimize unnecessary discharge of the battery pack 26 during periods of non-operation or rest of the electric lawn mower 10 and prevent over-discharge during periods of extended storage of the electric lawn mower 10 . Therefore, the battery pack 26 can have a longer operating life.

8 is a graphical illustration of the operating life characteristics of the battery pack 26 employed in the electric lawn mower 10 of the present invention, wherein the horizontal axis represents the change in the degree of discharge (%) and the vertical axis represents the change in the number of charge/discharge cycles. Variety. Here, the "degree of discharge" indicates the degree of discharge of the battery pack 26 and is represented by a percentage; it is assumed that the degree of discharge is expressed as "100%" when the battery pack 26 having a capacity of "100%" (assumed value) is fully discharged. "Number of charge/discharge cycles" indicates the total number of times the battery pack 26 can be charged and discharged. As is known in the art, nickel cadmium cells can recover this capacity even after being fully discharged and are therefore more tolerant of overdischarge than lead based or other types of cells. However, repeated full discharges result in shortened battery operating life. For example, as shown in Figure 8, if a full discharge is repeated, the number of charge/discharge cycles is limited to the range of 500-800, while if a 50% discharge is repeatedly performed, the number of charge/discharge cycles can be increased to 1700-1800 scope.

9 is a graphical illustration of the memory effect of the battery pack 26 employed in the electric lawn mower 10 of the present invention, wherein the horizontal axis represents the change in charge time (minutes) and the vertical axis represents the change in battery voltage (V) . As is known in the art, if a deep discharge is performed after repeated shallow discharges, a NiCd battery will experience a two-stage voltage drop during the deep discharge, and this phenomenon is known as the memory effect. In the illustrated embodiment, the battery voltage slowly decreases from 1.3V to 1.1V over the first 60 minute period from the start of discharge. However, after this first 60 minute period, the battery voltage dropped rapidly.

As can be seen from the graphs of Figures 8 and 9, care must be taken: 1) not to repeatedly perform full discharges; and 2) not to repeatedly perform shallow discharges, which will cause memory effects. That is, it is desirable to perform charging and discharging with an appropriate depth. Estimate by test, the memory effect induced voltage level is 1.1V/battery in the situation that the constant voltage of frontal battery pack is 1.2V, electric lawnmower of the present invention is provided with display lamp 37 (Fig. 5), considering will The memory effect induction voltage level is set to be less than 1.1V/battery, so the indicator light remains bright until the battery voltage drops to 9.7V/battery.

That is, the electric lawn mower 10 is provided with an indicator light 37 that remains illuminated as long as the voltage of the battery pack 26 just exceeds a predetermined voltage level above the memory effect induced voltage level. By adopting the display lamp 37 working in this way, it is possible to give the correct indication to the operator when the battery pack 26 needs to be charged, thereby preventing the shortening of the working life of the battery pack 26 due to incorrect charging.

The following paragraphs describe embodiments of the heat radiation mechanism employed in the electric lawnmower 10 described above.

10A and 10B are diagram illustrations of the behavior of the electric lawnmower 10, wherein FIG. 10A shows the flow of air through the lawnmower 10 during operation of the lawnmower 10, and FIG. 10B shows the operation of the lawnmower 10 just after The flow of air through the mower 10 after stopping. When the mower 10 is in operation as shown in FIG. 10A , the rotating blade 23 generates a negative pressure inside the cutter housing 21 . Thus, as indicated by arrow ①, outside air is drawn in through the louver opening 47a (FIG. 4), passes along the side of the front battery 43 and flows into the cutting enclosure through the through hole 32 (FIG. 4) that travels below the motor 22. Body 21. Simultaneously, as indicated by arrows ② and ③, the outside air is sucked in through the air hole 27a of the cover member 27, passes along the sides of the first and second upper batteries 44 and 45 and flows into the cutting machine case through the through hole 32 Body 21. The air flow shown by arrows ①-③ can forcibly cool the front battery 43 , the first and second upper batteries 44 and 45 and the electric motor 22 .

When the electric lawn mower 10 is just stopped as shown in FIG. 10B, the front battery 43, the first and second upper batteries 44 and 45, and the electric motor 22 are in a state of being significantly heated. Heat can be radiated from the batteries 43, 44 and 45 and the motor 22 by natural convection of the air introduced through the through holes 32 and passed around the batteries 43, 44 and 45 and the motor 22 as shown by arrows ④-⑥. . These air streams can cause other outside air to be sucked in ( FIG. 4 ) through the louver opening 47 a, to be discharged through the batteries 43, 44 and 45 and around the motor 22 and shown through the air hole 27 a of the cover element 27, as arrow ⑦, thereby further The heat radiation of the batteries 43 , 44 and 45 and the motor 22 is increased.

That is, in the electric lawn mower 10, wherein the cutter housing 21 has a through hole 32 communicated with the inner space defined by the cover member 27, the rotating blade 23 produces a flow from the louver opening 47a and the air hole 27a into the cutter housing 21. air flow. On the other hand, when the blade 23 is not rotating, a reverse air flow from the inside of the cutter housing 21 to the air hole 27a is generated due to heat generation of the front and upper batteries 43, 44 and 45 and the motor 22.

The power on/off key 41, the relay part 42 and the charging plug 52 will be described in detail below.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the relay unit 42 employed in the electric lawnmower of the present invention, and FIG. 12 is a front view of the relay unit 42. Referring to FIG. The relay unit 42 includes a housing 42a, the above-mentioned six connection terminals C1 to C6 disposed in the housing 42a, and wires 43c protruding from the terminals C1 to C6. As shown in FIG. 12 , the terminals C1 to C6 are arranged counterclockwise in the order of increasing terminal numbers starting from the upper right position in the figure. These terminals C1 to C6 are connected to the control board 35 of the control section 24 by wires 42c, as described above with reference to FIG. 7 .

FIG. 13 is a plan view of the power on/off key 41 employed in the electric lawnmower of the present invention, and FIG. 14 is a front view of the power on/off key 41. Referring to FIG. The power on/off key 41 includes a housing 41a, and four connection pins P1, P3, P4 and P6 are arranged in the housing 41a to be connected to the connection terminals C1, C2, C3 and C4 of the relay component 42 respectively. connect. As shown in FIG. 14 , the pins P1 , P3 , P4 and P6 are arranged clockwise in the order of increasing pin numbers starting from the lower right position in the figure. The positions N2 and N5 of the power on/off key 41 corresponding to the terminals C2 and C5 of the relay unit 42 (see FIG. 12 ) are vacant positions lacking such connection pins. Also, the first and third connection pins P1 and P3 are short-circuited inside the housing 41a, and the fourth and sixth connection pins P4 and P6 are dummy pins.

FIG. 15 is a plan view of a charging plug 52 employed in the electric lawn mower of the present invention, and FIG. 16 is a front view of the charging plug 52 . The charging plug 52 includes a housing 52a, five connection pins R1, R2, R4, R5 and R6, which are arranged in the housing 52a to be connected to the connection terminals C1, C2, C4, C5 and C6 of the relay component 42 respectively. Connections, and leads 52c extend from connection pins R1, R2, R4, R5 and R6. As shown in FIG. 16 , the pins R1 , R2 , R4 , R5 , and R6 are arranged clockwise in the order of increasing pin numbers starting from the lower right position in the figure. The position N3 of the charging plug 52 corresponding to the terminal C3 of the relay unit 42 (see FIG. 12 ) is a vacant position lacking such connection pins.

Fig. 17 is a perspective view of an improved electric lawnmower 10, which specifically shows an improved control part (that is, an improvement of the above-mentioned control part 24) 64 and an improved relay part (that is, a modification of the above-mentioned relay part 42). )61. The control part 64 includes a control box 65, a control board 66 installed in the control box 65, and a relay component 67 installed on the control board 66, which is used as a concave socket on the side of the machine to remove the power on/off key 41 connections. In this modified embodiment, the display lamp 37 and the buzzer 38 are also connected to the control board 64 .

That is, the improvement of FIG. 17 is characterized in that a relay member 67 is provided integrally with the control portion 64 for controlling the electric motor 33 (FIG. 5). This integral arrangement can eliminate the need for separate wires or similar relay components 67 interconnected with the control portion 64 and allows for a more efficient assembly of the electric lawn mower 10 .

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described with the reel part 31 on the left side of the body 11 and the female connection (relay part 42 or 67) on the machine side on the right side of the body 11, the reel part 31 is connected to the female side of the machine side. The left-right position of the connection 42 or 67 can be reversed;

Also, although the embodiment of the present invention has been described with reference to the case where the power on/off key 41 is movably inserted into a machine undercut connection (relay component 42 or 67), any other type of connection element may be used instead. The power on/off see 41 is removably inserted into the undercut connection 42 or 67 of the machine, and is used to turn on or off the electric lawn mower or electric working machine.

In summary, the electric working machine of the present invention is characterized in that the reel portion is provided on one of the left and right sides of the machine body, and the power switch/key is movably inserted into the concave connection (relay part or machine side power switch) ) is set on the other side of the left and right sides of the body. Thus the user can pull the power on/off key out of the concave connection in the body and place the body sideways on the same side of the body; that is, allow the user to complete two operations: insert or pull out the power on/off key; and place the body sideways, without changing his or her operating position. This can greatly improve the efficiency of reel cleaning.

Moreover, the electric working machine of the present invention is characterized in that the relay part is provided between the battery element driven by the motor and the control part, so that the battery element and the control part can be electrically connected to each other by inserting the power on/off key into the relay part. Connecting and withdrawing the power on/off key from the relay unit enables mutual electrical disconnection. This structure can minimize unnecessary discharge of the battery element during the quiescent period of the electric working machine, and prevent over-discharging during long-term storage of the working machine. Therefore, the battery element can have a longer working life.

Claims (2)

1. power-operated mower has:

Body (11) has cutting machine housing (21);

Relay parts (42) are arranged in the described body (11);

Electric notor (22) is installed in the described body (11), is used for opening and passing through electric power on/off key (41) removed from described relay parts (42) and close by electric power on/off key (41) being inserted described relay parts;

Blade (23) is arranged in the described cutting machine housing (21), and by described electric notor (22) driven rotary to cut grass; With

Spool part (31), be arranged in the described cutting machine housing (21), be used for to be sent to the straw bag (14) that releasably is installed in described body (11) rear portion by the grass that cut off described blade (23), described spool part (31) is arranged near the left cross side and the side in the right cross side of described body (11), it is characterized in that

Described relay parts comprise a single connector (42), described electric power on/off key (41) or battery charger connector (52) alternately releasably insert wherein, and described single connector (42) is arranged on the left cross side of described body (11) and the opposite side in the right cross side.

2. the power-operated mower described in claim 1 is characterized in that, comprises that also one is used to control the control section (64) of described electric notor (22), and the described single connector (42) of wherein said body (11) is provided with this control section (64) is whole.

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